Kenya Re to sponsor 10 orphaned KCSE top performers annually at Ivy League universities

Kenya Re has launched a foundation that will sponsor at least 10 exceptionally performing Form Four leavers every year to study at Ivy League universities, targeting top students who have no parents or guardians to support their education.

The programme will be open to KCSE candidates who attain straight As in all subjects and are total orphans without guardians.

Kenya Re Group Managing Director Hillary Wachinga said the beneficiaries will be selected from across the country, with one student drawn from each of the eight former provinces and two additional students from Nairobi.

The first cohort is expected to be recruited in February 2027.

The reinsurance company has committed Ksh.78.47 million as seed funding for the initiative and is seeking an additional Ksh.30 million to Ksh.50 million from partners to support the programme.

Wachinga said the initiative is intended to ensure that exceptional academic ability is not constrained by a student's financial circumstances.

The programme will also seek to expose beneficiaries to specialised knowledge and international learning environments before they return to contribute their expertise to Kenya's economy.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, who spoke during the launch in Nairobi, said sustained investment in education and skills development was critical to maintaining Kenya's position as a source of skilled labour in the region.

Mbadi said rapid changes in technology and the emergence of new industries required Kenya to continuously retrain its workforce and prepare young people for opportunities beyond traditional sectors.

He cited Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote's plans to establish a college to retrain Kenyan engineers ahead of the planned development of an oil refinery in Lamu as an example of the changing skills requirements in the economy.

According to Mbadi, such developments demonstrate the need for Kenya to anticipate future skills demands and equip its workforce accordingly.

For Kenya Re, the scholarship programme is also expected to create a pipeline of highly skilled professionals who could eventually contribute to the insurance sector and other strategic industries.

The foundation's education programme adds to Kenya Re's existing social investment initiatives under its Niko Fiti campaign, which supports people living with disabilities through assistive devices and other interventions, as well as environmental conservation programmes.

The initiative will therefore combine academic sponsorship with a broader goal of building human capital by giving high-performing students from vulnerable backgrounds an opportunity to pursue advanced education at leading global universities.